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Spider

Spider

Mystery · Thriller · 2002

A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.

Movie details

Spider

“The only thing worse than losing your mind... is finding it again.”

2002 Mystery · Thriller 1h 38m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.6 / 10

Community rating

A mentally disturbed man takes residence in a halfway house. His mind gradually slips back into the realm created by his illness, where he replays a key part of his childhood.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Spider?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The 9th Life of Louis Drax

The 9th Life of Louis Drax

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A psychologist who begins working with a young boy who has suffered a near-fatal fall finds himself drawn into a mystery that tests the boundaries of fantasy and reality.

The Infernal Machine

The Infernal Machine

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Reclusive and controversial author Bruce Cogburn is drawn out of hiding by an obsessive fan, forcing the novelist to confront a past that he thought he could escape, and to account for events set in motion by his bestseller decades earlier. Cogburn's search for who is behind the manipulation and mental torment he encounters leads to an emotional roller-coaster ride full of fear and danger, where things are not always as clear as they seem to be, and where past deeds can have dire consequences.

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man

Thriller · 2020

When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

The Shining

The Shining

Horror · 1980

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

Barbarian

Barbarian

Horror · 2022

In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.

Stonehearst Asylum

Stonehearst Asylum

Thriller · 2014

An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea of a recent and horrifying staffing change.

Gerald's Game

Gerald's Game

Horror · 2017

When her husband's sex game goes wrong, Jessie (who is handcuffed to a bed in a remote lake house) faces warped visions, dark secrets and a dire choice.

The Awakening

The Awakening

Horror · 2011

In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.

The Dogs

The Dogs

Horror · 2025

After fleeing his psychotic father, a young teen and his mom seek refuge in a remote farmhouse, only to face a pack of ferocious dogs and the sinister spirits that haunt the property.

The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train

Crime · 2016

Rachel Watson, devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

David Cronenberg

Written by

Patrick McGrath

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

Spider

Miranda Richardson

Miranda Richardson

Yvonne / Mrs. Cleg

Gabriel Byrne

Gabriel Byrne

Bill Cleg

Lynn Redgrave

Lynn Redgrave

Mrs. Wilkinson

John Neville

John Neville

Terrence

Philip Craig

Philip Craig

John

Bradley Hall

Bradley Hall

Spider Boy

Court is in session

Put Spider on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.